TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine / Express / GT Region Mod Chips for sale!

[BlueBMW]

Version 3 of the region mod chip is now available! This new chip does not require that you run wires to each hucard slot pin.  It fits directly on the pins for easy slim installation.  Installation time is around 15 minutes (compared to previous models which could easily take an hour or more)

Pricing is  $18 for the mod chip and $3 for postage
Switchless confirmed working.  Available soon!

Contact Turbokon for more information.

http://www.tg16pcemods.com


OG: wayback://93e39fe175e1bc99a4e8a5b730232da0.jpg




ARCHIVE -- Old information for the 1st and 2nd version region mod chips.

 Version 2 of the region mod boards are now available and can be purchased from Turbokon directly via his website: http://www.tg16pcemods.com/

Region Mod Chip   $16 + $2.50 shipping to US
Switchless Control Board   $4 extra

Any questions, feel free to PM either myself or Turbokon.





I wrote up an installation manual that can be downloaded here (~15mb)  http://www.mediafire.com/?ad5obr3lls4usm3



As some of you know, thesteve and I have been working on making up some nice new region mod chips for these consoles.  Well the boards and parts have all arrived, and I have started to assemble chips!  I've tested these in a US Turbo Duo and a US Turbo Express.  They work perfect!

These chips will work with a SPDT slide switch just like the other IC based region mods.  These require that you cut 8 of the connections going to the hucard slot and run wires to them.  If you don't feel comfortable soldering very small connections, you should probably have this done by someone experienced.

Optionally, a second control chip board can be used to run the mod 'switchless'.  By 'switchless' we mean there will be no switch mounted externally on the device.  This was designed for the portable systems so one doesn't have to cut up their Express or GT (or maybe even LT  ) to perform a region switch.  In this setup, the original region is default and the second region is selected by holding the select button while powering the unit on.  NOTE: This doesnt not work on console systems!  It still requires a button press on boot which cannot be done on consoles like it can on portables!

The pricing on these chips will be as follows:


Region Mod Chip   $18 shipped
Switchless Control Board   $4 extra


If you need a switch or wires with your chip, let me know!

I wrote up an installation manual that can be downloaded here (~15mb)  http://www.mediafire.com/?ad5obr3lls4usm3
Please send me a PM if you are interested!

Dimensions on the chips are 0.70" x 0.850" by 0.15" for the main chip, and 0.70" x 0.65" x 0.15" for the switchless control chip.

And now some pictures!

photobucket.com/albums/ac253/bmcdanold/Repair/RegionModChip.jpg

Installed in a Turbo Duo:

photobucket.com/albums/ac253/bmcdanold/Repair/ModChipInstalled.jpg

Installed in a Turbo Express:

photobucket.com/albums/ac253/bmcdanold/Repair/5.jpg
photobucket.com/albums/ac253/bmcdanold/Repair/6.jpg

[nectarsis]

Looking GREAT man.  Def have use(s) for these.  Any news on the TE LCD swap? ;)

[BlueBMW]

Looking GREAT man.  Def have use(s) for these.  Any news on the TE LCD swap? ;)

Soon! Soon!!!   Though we'll probably do RGB amps next, and then probably RGB to component converters.  Thesteve might tackle the LCD swap tho!

[thesteve]

i don't expect i will get the chance to design the swap (time)
i am always happy to assist tho

[TheClash603]

Very nice!  If I didn't have my LA setup for all my PCE/TG16 needs, then I'd definitely need to get one of these.

If I ever get a cheap second TG16 unit though, I'll have to get it over to you for some modding.

[CGQuarterly]

If you make RGB amps with that same level of quality, I will definitely be buying a few.  Which design are you going to use?

Chris

[thesteve]

thats the plan.
he was testing an auto level amp using 2 small chips in the LA and it worked well

[csgx1]

Looks great! Now I just need to figure out what system(s) I want to mod.

[BlueBMW]

If you make RGB amps with that same level of quality, I will definitely be buying a few.  Which design are you going to use?

Chris

I had planned on using this design:


OG: av:n64rgb.png

I made a homemade one a few weeks ago and it worked absolutely fabulous on my Laseractive...

If we make these though, I wont use nearly as large of components.  We'll probably go surface mount on everything to make it as small as possible!

/RGBAmp.jpg

[Bernie]

Looking good BlueBMW and thesteve.

[CGQuarterly]

If you make RGB amps with that same level of quality, I will definitely be buying a few.  Which design are you going to use?

Chris

I had planned on using this design:

I made a homemade one a few weeks ago and it worked absoulely fabulous on my Laseractive...

If we make these though, I wont use nearly as large of components.  We'll probably go surface mount on everything to make it as small as possible!

Awesome.  That's the amp design that I built for my N64, and I like it as well.

Chris

[thesteve]

the thread needed a bump so.......BUMP

[henrycsc]

No idea what these are, but awesomesauce!

[thesteve]

thats the needed  circuit for RGB

[thesteve]

guide updated

[csgx1]

I just successfully installed my first 'Obey' mod chip in my Turbo Grafx.  The guide was easy to follow and made the installation trouble free.  A bit nerve racking cutting hucard slot pins but overall a fun and rewarding experience. 

The best part of the whole process is doing the end test and seeing a PC Engine game load up for the first time ....woohoo, success!

Thanks guys for creating such a great product.   Looking forward to the RGB amps as well.   

Now that I had a warm up, on to attempting the switchless region mod on my Turbo Express.

[thesteve]

just a 2 notes on the express.
1: solder bridge JP1 to enable mode latch.
2: the switch board install can be tested before installing the control board by connecting the control wire to +5 for original region, and Ground for swap.



corrected info

[thesteve]

i just installed a switchless in an express.
i chose to do it differently

[csgx1]

Just finished modding my Turbo Express with the switch-less region mod and it's great!

thesteve...Thanks for posting your install pics and for the tips.  They helped me a great deal.  I first followed the guide for the switch-less mod install and when I finished, I had major issues with PCE games freezing and glitching.  I then used some slightly thicker gauge wire and re-routed the ground and power wires like the pictures and now it works perfectly.

Thanks again for creating/offering these awesome mod chips.

[thesteve]

that's interesting, that it solved the issues for you.
the wire routing shouldn't have changed anything, however if you were having wire failures (broken/ came loose ect), then using different wire would solve it.
just as a note I am using #26 wire, and it fits the holes perfect.

[allyourblood]

Are these still available? I PM'd earlier, but I have a feeling it didn't go through (new to this forum's layout, so I can't really tell). I'd like to purchase one, if they are. Thanks!

[thesteve]

we still got em

[csgx1]

It's quite possible that my issue could have been caused by a damaged/broken wire.  All connections were double checked and were secure. 

I was thinking the glitching and freezing when booting a non-native (PCE) hucard was caused by the switch board not getting consistent power through longer and thin wire....possibly?  In any case, the issue was fix after changing and re-routing the wires.

Any updates on the RGB amps?

[BlueBMW]

I know the very small 30 gauge wire can easily get damaged even just by handling / bending it a few times.  Going with larger wire (26 gauge) may be a better bet.  A weak wire could certainly cause glitching.

If anyone else has had installation issues, please let me know!

As far as RGB amps, they're still a little ways off.  I'll be working on the design for them this weekend some more.

[edojapan76]

I just installed a BlueBMW mod chip. Buy this mans chips!




This isn't supposed to happen 


Who needs ugly RCA mods, when they can have an RCA attachment that's bigger than the G.D. system. 

[BlueBMW]

edojapan's TG16 is the first US system I've ever heard of needing the pin 29 grounded on in order for the region switch to work.  I'll be adding a note to the install guide.  Maybe some of the very late (or very early) TG16s were a little different as far as region lockout goes.

Congrats on the great install edojapan!

[thesteve]

PCE DUO install

[allyourblood]

A few shots of my installed chip and switch. I gave up shrinking the tubing on the wires after I kept having them come free in the process; I just slid it on there, but they're all wedged together so well that there's no fear of exposure or shorts. Darn 30 gauge wire can be touchy sometimes. The blue 26g wires connected to the switch in the first shot were just there for a quick and dirty test. I was going to replace them all with the smaller wire but the last few seemed to fit fine without bulking things up too much inside.

I'll do better with the next one. Many thanks to BlueBMW for the supplies and install tips! Wonderful service and very easy to install.

killedaway.com/images/projects/regionmod03.jpg
killedaway.com/images/projects/regionmod00.jpg
killedaway.com/images/projects/regionmod01.jpg
killedaway.com/images/projects/regionmod02.jpg

[thesteve]

Looking GREAT man.  Def have use(s) for these.  Any news on the TE LCD swap? ;)

Im tackling it now

[phipscube]

Here's my efforts on my PCE GT: -






It all went together nicely, but I haven't got a US game to test properly yet. The Regular Japanese games work fine. I'll keep an eye on its function though, i'm worried i've used too thin a wire for power and GND after reading csgx1's findings. I'll post here if I do have problems to let everyone know.

[thesteve]

pin29

[phipscube]

Yep I did that as well, sorry forgot to post the pic: -

[thesteve]

for troubleshooting take the (B) wire off your switchless board and solder it to the shield.
it should boot US games than.

[thesteve]

bump
still available

[BlueBMW]

Bump!  Still have 100+ of these

[GohanX]

By the way, I'd like to point out that when the instructions say use 26 gauge wire, don't use 24 just because that's all Radio Shack had. I had to get Beemer to fix mine... I messed up a trace probably because the 24g is hard to work with in that tiny area.

I'm going to keep an eye out for a cheap Core Grafx or white PCE so I can try it again sometime.

[Mishran]

PMed you two about some mods and a hopefully future raffle item.

[PunkCryborg]

bought a couple of these, cant wait to install them!

[Keith Courage]

I have used some crazy thin wire in the past without any trouble at all. Then again those were all on 8pdt region mods and not ones that require any 5V power to be tapped. I can't remember what gauge it was exactly but I sometimes use old IDE cables for PCs that only have one strand of wire in each instead of multiple ones.  It is very thin and I actually prefer this cause then it is easier to solder the wire straight through the holes on the motherboard instead of trying to solder the wire to a bent metal pin.

[phipscube]

Well, I can confidently say my GT works flawlessly with the thin power wires. The only problem I have is when my Eneloop batts start to run down if I don't turn off the system before the screen goes completely white then it seems to crash and the gfx corrupt. But thats a known issue with the mod installed. So once I notice the screen starting to brighten, I switch off...... (Off topic, but MAN those eneloops last nearly TWICE as long as regular Alkalines!!!!)

[thesteve]

congrats phips

keith the reason the #30 wire was an issue, is it breaks easily, and doesnt solder as well as #26 multistrand

[Keith Courage]

Oh okay, I thought the problem was that it wasn't large enough of a gauge for the current to flow. I gotcha now 

[fire1000]

sorry new here try to do this myself too hard on the tg16 it was ez for me but on an pc enigne #^#@(   It.   so any one on here who can put one in for me whould be great.
thanks,
fire1000

[BlueBMW]

Bump for the win!

fire, did anyone get back to you on installing a mod chip?

[fire1000]

Bump for the win!

fire, did anyone get back to you on installing a mod chip?

no my pc engine Is wack I tred to do an mod that used the two chips. but all the jupers come off the main to the card pcb. so now its two pcbs that need all the wiers solder back! and I have no time to do so. if you do any work let me know what you charge to fix it.
thanks,
frie1000

[BlueBMW]

Bump!

Fire, give thesteve a shout.

[PunkCryborg]

I had a hard time with my Duo R cause I'm a soldering n00b but I sent it off to TheSteve along with my GT and he fixed em up right for me. They work great and man, the GT is just so cool with the switchless region mod, just hold down select when you turn it on for the other region and it's like magic!
I have a pretty random mix up of US and JP hu cards so it's totally rad to be able to just use them on my system without hassling with the region switch boards.
Thanks Steve and BMW for all the hard work put into making these!

[DynamiteSJ]

PM sent

[thesteve]

bump

[Alt-Nintega]

It's amazing how you guys are able to create this type of stuff!!!

Just purely freakin brilliant!!!